Meizu M3 Note Vs Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 Smartphone Comparison

Whether it’s India or China, these two countries have been seeing a lot of competition in the mid-range smartphone segment. Just a month ago Xiaomi announced its latest Redmi Note 3 in India, which was first announced in China in January. Now with that Meizu has announced their new mid-range handset in China last week. It’s the M3 Note, which is the successor to M2 Note that was launched last year.

We were at the launch event in Beijing and had got the device with us. After doing exclusive hands-on and camera review, many of our users were asking about the comparison between M3 Note and Redmi Note 3. So, this is a comparison on demand by our viewers on YouTube.

Note: The Meizu M3 Note we have is a Chinese unit, so it doesn’t have the Google Apps like Gmail, YouTube, Google Drive, etc., pre-installed. But when this device would be launched in India, it would be coming up with all the Google apps. Don’t you worry about it, guys!

Design

Sporting a metal body design, the M3 Note is a great successor to M2 Note, which sported a polycarbonate build. Feels sturdy in hands, it has a solid body with thickness of 8.2mm and weighs at 163 grams. While comparing it with Xiaomi Redmi Note 3, it has a metal body design as well but doesn’t feel quite sturdy, although, despite the large size it manages to feel compact when doing the one-handed operation. Same can be said for the Meizu handset; it has a compact feel to it despite large size. Though, when thickness compared the M3 Note is the winner as it offers 8.2mm thickness compared to 8.65mm.

Display

The display on both devices are similar at 5.5-inch, as well as the resolution is same too at 1080p. Though, there are many things differentiating them, one of which is the protection. Where Meizu M3 Note comes with a 2.5D curved glass, which is not confirmed by the company but should be a corning glass, or any other glass covering. While talking about the display protection on Redmi Note 3, but it has a rather an oleophobic coating, which acts as anti-fingerprint measure and protection, although, not as strong as glass protection.

Hardware

Meizu M3 Note comes with a Helios P10, MediaTek Processor, Octa-core, which clocks at 1.8GHz. It’s the same processor used on the Gionee S8, which is marketed as a high-end device. One of the powerful MediaTek chipsets out there, the P10 is the latest chipset from the affordable manufacturer, MediaTek. It has an option of 2GB/3GB RAM & 16GB/32GB internal storage. The storage can be expanded via microSD card slot. The device boasts a Fingerprint sensor on the front, integrated on the physical home button. While the Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 sports a Hexa-core, Snapdragon 650, which clocks at 1.8GHz and is made by Qualcomm. One of the powerful mid-range chipsets from Qualcomm, it has even outperformed Snapdragon 810 in our tests. The Xiaomi handset offers similar 2GB/3GB RAM & 16GB/32GB storage. While the device packs a Fingerprint sensor on the backside.

Software

The software version on both of these handsets is Android Lollipop though they have their own custom launchers running on top of it. While most of you would be familiar with MIUI ROM, I can’t assume that for the Flyme OS. The Redmi Note 3 comes with the latest MIUI 7, which has some extra features like wallpaper change from the lock screen, Mi Mover app and couple more. It lacks gesture features like tap to wake and all, whereas its present on the Meizu handset; gesture wake up, smart touch, and various other features. But Meizu is not known to promise and deliver the frequent software updates while Xiaomi does offer that and deliver on it, the frequent software updates, where it adds features and fixes any problems reported by its users.

Camera

Meizu M3 Note (4)

Meizu M3 Note (3)

Meizu M3 Note (2)

Meizu M3 Note (1)

There is a lot of difference regarding camera resolution between these two handsets, the rear module on the Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 is of 16MP while the Meizu M3 Note is of 13MP. We have tested both the cameras, and Redmi Note 3 certainly beats the quality on M3 Note, but Meizu handset does offer pretty good quality for 13MP module, unlike most of the smartphones in this price range. While one boasts a f/2.0 aperture, the other one sports a f/2.2 aperture lens. In terms of videos recording, they are quite different; Xiaomi phone can do 4K video content whereas Meizu phone can go as high as 1080p. They both packs 5MP module on the front to take selfie offering similar quality images.

Battery

You’ll be surprised how much similar specification both of these handsets comes with. Meizu packs a 4100mAh capacity battery inside, which is rated to give 16 days of standby time; we have yet to test its battery but feel quite good for the first two days of casual usage. Whereas on the other hand, the Xiaomi has a 4050mAh battery fit inside its mid-range handset, which we have tested to give pretty incredible standby time as well as the screen on time.

Verdict

The conclusion here is complicated yet simple. Complicated why? Well, they both sports similar specifications and it’s quite hard to judge which is better, although, regarding camera specs, the Xiaomi does wins while it lacks in display protection, which is where Meizu handset excel. Now why it is simple? If you’re in India, then it’s easy to choose, because the Meizu haven’t announced its M3 Note in the country yet. But when they do, which device would you choose? Shoot your feedback in the comments section below.